2012...

yes it's been a long time between photos and new octopus, last year we had several hot calm days
and I believe the rock pool got too hot for most creatures to live in. There were dead shellfish littered
all around the bottom. I went back many times and never found any form of life in shellfish, fish or octopus.

I went for my first swim (for a long time) early this week, so much for low tide. Most times you can walk
across to the island and maybe get up to your knees wet, this time the winter currents had gouged out over
2 metres of sand. The water was a cool 19 degrees and I was only able to manage a swim in one of the pools
due to a reasonable size swell pushing the waves over the rocks. Even the zoo hole was still getting waves
washing through it. No sooner had I put my face into the water, I saw several small shells that had been opened.

This was a good sign and within a couple of minutes and between masses of bubbles from the waves, I saw the first
octopus for a long time. The photos are far from being clear but there will be someone very happy to see that
there is life back in the rock pools for their visit which is coming soon.

I saw a heated underskin for shallow diving the other day but the $500 price tag kept me from investigating. I am planning on bringing a shorty but if that water doesn't warm up I might bring a full wet suit (don't have a thick one though)

Today the wind like the last few days picked up early, I went down to watch the sunrise and it was blowing at 10kph then.
After lunch I wandered down to go across to the island, it was still an hour to low tide but it was still too deep to wade
across so I had to swim the 20 mtr channel to the sand bank on the other side. The current being pushed through the channel by the 40 kph wind was quite strong.

I checked out the northern side of the island as the wind was pushing waves into the southern side rock pools, nothing there. I went to the Zoo hole out the front and it was warmer in the 19 degree water than standing in the wind. There was the odd splash from a wave now and again but it was relatively calm in the pool itself. The octopus that I found a couple of weeks ago was still there in the same den. I took a couple of pics and they were too dark, while I was changing the camera settings I noticed the octopus had left it's den and was reaching out to feel my boot. It was only a matter of a couple of minutes and she (I think) was not hesitating to venture out and wrap her arms around my left hand and pull quite hard. She is much larger that I thought
before. Her arms would be capable of reaching over half a metre from tip to tip. She wandered out several times and reached for a
few shells, pulled them in towards herself and then dropped them. I scratched the rocks outside her den and she came out and again pulled on my hand.

I had been there for an hour and I was getting a bit cool so I decide to leave my new friend hoping that she will stay for at least another month or so.

I SOOOOO hope she stays! We discovered AU requires 6 full months left on passports and ours were only valid for 4 so we are scrambling to get new ones. Mine came back but the rejected Neal's photo (resent today) so we are sweating a bit. I hope it warms up but I am getting in that water no matter what!!!!!

BEAUTIFUL sunrise but I am not one likely to see it on the early morning side (late night side of morning, maybe )

D. I'm a early morning person and see the sunrise quite often. No matter if the water warms up or not, you tend not to think about the temperature until you start to shake from the cold then you know it's time to get out. Maybe one day I will wear a wet-suit.

With the time/day change, who knows what time my body will think it is .

I have a major problem with the cold thing. I can get "numb" and do OK but when I get out it takes, literally, hours for me to stop shaking even in 90 deg F heat in the sun under a blanket. I wet skin (nylon full body "jump suit" - see staff photo) even in the Keys! It is not so much that I get cold easily (although as I get older that seems to be more the case) but I don't warm up easily after I loose body heat.

all I will say is ... it will be good on the day/days. I also found out that the "lagoon" at Port is connected to the river and is tidal, so you never know there may be something in there after all. :)